As exemplified by the response to hurricane Katrina, one of the major downfalls of the response to the disaster was the inability of various rescue units to be able to communicate with each other due to differing equipment, differing frequencies, differing modulation modes and differing data inputs, making communication amongst operational units or the first responders exceedingly difficult if not outright impossible.
As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/943,232 an adhoc emergency interoperability communication network is established by providing universal temporary incident area network modules that communicate with each other on a network using a common frequency and modulation format, such as provided by 802.11. In one embodiment of the system, the adhoc network is established when vehicles containing the temporary incident area network modules are within range of each other. The temporary incident area network modules are such as to have an RF or other connection with handheld or in vehicle communication devices of whatever variety that have standardized voice, data and push-to-talk channels. Upon receipt of a transmission from the standard transceiver, the signals are converted to the common network frequency and format and transmitted around the network. The system thus allows communications amongst the responders to an incident without having to set up pre-arranged protocols, equipment compatibility, or equipment addressing. Moreover, command and control structure can be achieved through a commander having access through his own temporary incident area network module at a node on the network to be able to route and control the flow of information over the network. This network is referred to herein as a mesh network.
The problem however occurs when those within the temporary incident area network cannot communicate outside of the network. Thus, the ability to obtain material and personnel from locations outside the temporary incident area network are severely limited in the case where towers are down, where there are no base stations in the area and where there is no power available to sustain radio communications. Thus, it is impossible for those within the temporary incident area network to communicate outside the network. As a result, their needs and requirements are not communicated to the outside world.
As in hurricane Katrina, when people are stranded because they don't have communications or when supplies exist but requirement for them is unknown, it is important to be able to communicate data back to a location where an entity can use that information to make decisions and provide the requisite aid.
In hurricane Katrina, almost all of the cell towers were down because of lack of emergency generators or where batteries finally failed. Also there was no proximity of wi-fi hotspots with which those having power to their computers could communicate. Moreover, point-to-point communications from the modules was limited in range to, for instance one or two miles so that assistance outside the temporary incident area network could not be made available.
In short, better information would have been an optimal weapon, with information being sent to the right people at the right place at the right time. In order to provide an optimal response, it is important that information be moved within agencies, cross departments and between jurisdictions of the government, seamlessly, securely and efficiently.
As documented in the “A Failure of Initiative” report drafted by the U.S. House of Representatives after hurricane Katrina, large scale catastrophes can overwhelm and temporarily disable communication systems, affecting first responders' abilities to make and execute critical decisions. While the aforementioned interoperability system provides a proven wireless network solution that operates completely independent of existing communications infrastructure to provide voice interoperability, there is a necessity to expand the reach of such a system to those beyond the temporary incident area network.
As will be appreciated, the aforementioned interoperability system provides immediate voice interoperability, a critical need to ensure successful command and control at a disaster. The nodes in the system allow for flexibility and adaptability as the disaster response grows. However, voice operability requires an expanded capability to first responders so as to not only provide voice interoperability among disparate radio types and frequencies and a secure transmission over a mesh network, connectivity needs to be provided outside the affected region both incoming and out going. This connectivity needs to include not only voice, but also data and internet access. Moreover, situational awareness capabilities need to be provided to the outside world using GPS and GIS mapping data. It is also desirable to provide video and data sharing to those outside the mesh network, as well as automated wide area network management. Also, when data includes wireless RF identification technology for patient triaging, the information must be transmitted beyond the mesh network. Key to all of the above is to be able to provide sustained system runtimes via power sources from common devices.
It is to be noted that incident commanders do not have the time to worry about technical issues concerning mesh networks, specifically bandwidth saturation. Aided by GPS location of apparatus and access point configuration settings, it is important to provide a system to provide automatic dynamic reconfiguration of access point channel allocation. This automatic system requires that there is no interaction on behalf of first responders to maintain network integrity.
In short, there needs to be connectivity with the internet and other communications networks when wi-fi channels do not exist, where landlines are inoperative, where 900 megahertz communication is out of range and when cellular communication is not possible, either due to lack of working towers or lack of cellular coverage.